


Eldalië Aran o Taur-e-Ndaedelos

by I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own



Series: Suilad Aran Thranduil [28]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: I couldn't resist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-20
Packaged: 2018-03-06 23:12:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3151847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own/pseuds/I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“In his realm, you are at his mercy,” he muses. “There is a simplicity to that. That corrupted forest (Mirkwood) is very much a reflection of who he is.”</p><p>-Lee Pace on Thranduil</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Eldalië Aran

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eldalië Aran o Taur-e-Ndaedelos. 
> 
> Elf king of the forest of great fear.

It does amuse him, how often people underestimate him. How often people will look at him and see something entirely other than that which he portrays. He is not exactly secretive. He lives in a forest called Taur-nu-Fuin, the forest under nightshade, a forest called Taur-e-Ndaedelos, the forest of great fear. A forest called Mirkwood. Yet people continue to underestimate him.

He, who lived and breathed and bled Doriath once. He, who watched his home go up in flames while he stood over his mother’s grave. He, who claimed his status as heir apparent while drowning in the blood of his elder brother. He, who became the only as he tried to hold his sister together in his arms. He, who claimed his kingship with the blood of his father still drying on his hands and his tears still burning in his eyes. He, who became a widower as cries of victory tore the air. People continue to underestimate him.

He, who lives in a forest with an enchanted river. He, who lives in a forest infested with giant, talking spiders. He, who lives in a forest with _Sauron,_ of all people, and manages to resist him. He, who lives in a forest with wargs. He, who lives in a forest with orcs. He, who lives in a forest slowly dying around him. Yet people continue to underestimate him.

A forest of nightmares. A forest of darkness. A forest of _death_ and _decay._ And he is its king, and yet they continue to underestimate him. They continue to forget that he is not like his kin to the west and that he is not like his kin to the south. They continue to forget that while his kin in the other realms enjoy peace and almost perfect stability, he does not. They continue to forget that Rivendell is the Last Homely House, they forget that Lorien is a forest of dreams, they forget that Mirkwood is a forest of _fear._ They forget that he is Mirkwood’s king.

It does amuse him. They fear his forest, but they forget to fear him.

It does amuse him. The look on their faces when they realize they’ve made a mistake.

This is the forest of unwanted things, and he is their king.

_“You see the elf-king father? He’s near! The king of the elves with crown and train.”_

_“My son, the mist is on the plain.”_

**_“Did someone not tell you?”_ ** _the white teeth glint in the pitiful light that breaks through the trees._

_“Now father, now father, he’s seizing my arm. Elf-king has done me a cruel harm.”_

**_“Never stray from the path.”_ **

_The father shudders, his ride is wild. In his arms he’s holding the groaning child. He reaches the court with toil and dread- the child he held in his arms was dead._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything in normal italics, but the line immediately after 'did someone not tell you' belongs to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and is from Der Erlkonig.
> 
> For those who don't know, the tale of Der Erlkonig talks of a father riding through a forest at night with his child in his arms. The Erlkonig appears before the child and starts trying to lure the child away from his father. The father cannot see the Erlkonig and does not believe his son when the boy tries to tell him what is happening. The father continues riding, and the Erlkonig grabs the boy, who cries out. The father holds the boy and continues to ride. Upon reaching the court where they were planning to go, he discovers that his child is dead.
> 
> This is a very, very crappy summary. And I would suggest you go and read the poem. The original is in German, if anyone can read that.


	2. Taur-e-Ndaedelos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is nothing to fear in Mirkwood, but fear itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taur-e-Ndaedelos. The forest of great fear. 
> 
> This chapter is not about Thranduil (what gave it away?), but about Mirkwood. 
> 
> Major Author's note at bottom.

It is something often ignored by many, forgotten by others. The great forest of Mirkwood, dark, dying, and dangerous. Often overlooked, and avoided, and no one can really recall why. But those on the outskirts of the forest know, and those who dwell within her trees know, too.

Only the tainted survive Mirkwood.

* * *

There has always been something wrong with the beautiful forest, always something impure, even before the darkness came. Greenwood the Great, but even back then she had a sinister nature, even then it was dangerous to wonder her lands without protection. Mirkwood is a remnant of the old world, her trees remember the Great Journey, and they remember the Sundering. Through her trees flows the might of the old magic. She alone remains tended by Ents and Entwives, she alone nurtures Entings.

Mirkwood is not like other forests, she never has been.

* * *

There is a grudging respect held between those who dwell within Mirkwood’s trees. A grudging respect that extends from one party to another no matter whose side of the war they are on. Though they fight each other, they fight her more. She is a land of nightmares, of shadows, of death and decay. The elves love her trees and they try to love  _her,_ but she brings misfortune to them, all the same. The orcs respect her and they admire her viciousness, but she brings misfortune to them, too.

Only the strong survive Mirkwood.

* * *

The ravages of time mean as little to Mirkwood as they mean to the elves. Where time and the kingdoms of men have destroyed and diminished the forests of old, they do not harm Mirkwood. Though many have tried. Where the other realms of the elves endure with Rings of Power, Mirkwood endures by the power of the old world.

Mirkwood is alive in more ways than people know.

* * *

The elves do what they can to minimize the danger the forest poses, but they carry Mirkwood’s taint with them, there is only so much they can do. The Men of the Lake learn quickly that while the elves are fair and welcoming to them, and while they party often, they are warriors at heart, they are always ready and waiting for the next battle. The Men of the Lake know it is best not to cross them. There are dangerous things in Mirkwood, and to believe the Elves aren’t one of them is to accept your own death.

Mirkwood is the place life comes to die.

* * *

Men fear Lothlorien, because they have heard tales of Galadriel from those who have survived journeys into her wood. They do not fear Mirkwood, because no one lives long enough to tell tales.

There is nothing to fear in Mirkwood, but fear itself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have become obsessed with this idea that nothing that lives in Mirkwood is entirely good, because how can it be? Survival is about adaptation, and if you can't adapt to your environment, you aren't going to survive. Mirkwood is the type of place you definitely have to adapt to survive in. 
> 
> I stated in the chapter that Mirkwood has Ents and Entwives. This is not at all canon, but is my own head canon. Yes, I know Legolas said in Two Towers that he had never met an Ent before, but he literally also said a few pages before that that Fangorn Forest was so old it almost made him feel young again in a way he hadn't felt since travelling with the Fellowship. Despite the fact that Mirkwood is as old as Fangorn forest, since Mirkwood existed as part of the massive forest spanning Middle-earth during the time of the Two Trees. Mirkwood was also one of the first stops (I can't remember if it is THE first stop) on the Great Journey of the Elves, so if any forest is gonna make Legolas feel young, it should be the forest he was... you know, young in.  
> But on the note of the Ents and Entwives being there. All the other forests where the Ents and Entwives dwelt began to diminish when the Entwives left, because no Entings were being made. Mirkwood, however, has kept the same(ish) borders of land since the First Age, which is rather significant when you think about the fact that Men and Hobbits once settled down on its borders, and when you think that Sauron has been hanging out there for most of the Third age. 
> 
> Furthermore, Mirkwood is often forgotten by the rest of the world, case in point, Mirkwood is called the Forest of Great Fear but everyone is literally more terrified of Lothlorien and Fangorn than they are of Mirkwood (I do not understand but okay). The Entwives headed off towards the Brown Lands, where later Sauron burned everything in sight. People said they saw the Entwives heading East, South, and West, but no reports of them going North, which makes an odd kind of sense in that North of the Brown Lands is Mirkwood. The only forest still surviving near the Brown Lands is Mirkwood. I think some of the Entwives headed off to Mirkwood, where some Ents continued to dwell. If both the Entwives and Ents existed in the same forest, Entings could be made.  
> The Entwives being in Mirkwood would also make sense as Radagast has his home in the southern part of Mirkwood. Radagast is the Maia of the Valië Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits and the one responsible for all growing things. The Entwives belong to Yavanna while the Ents belong to Oromë.  
> The Entwives were more concerned with the smaller things that grew, like flowers and herbs, and were more preoccupied with their gardens than with tending the trees. Mirkwood isn't exactly the place you'd think 'pretty garden' but the elves would have gardens of some sort, they would need them for herbs. And where gardens can grow, Entwives can go.  
> So, Ents and Entwives. Tada. 
> 
> I think that's everything?


End file.
